482 THE SEDGE FAMILY. 
arrangement of the glumes, and from Blysmus by the arrangement of 
the spikelets. 
Spikelets solitary on each stem. 
Stems branched, leafy, floating in water or in matted tufts on 
its edge . : : : ; . 7 S. fluitans. 
Stems simple, erect or ascending. 
Outer bract of the spikelet without any leafy tip. 
Stems very slender, not 3 inches high. Styles 3-cleft. 
Spikelet dark brown, scarcely more thanilinelong . 1. S. acicularis. 
Spikelet pale- -coloured, usually 13 lines long or rather 
MOKe! iy; . 2. S. parvulus. 
Stems rather stiff, 3 or 4 inches to a foot high or more. 
Styles mostly 2- cleft. : ‘ é : ; ; . 3. S. palustris. 
Styles mostly 3-cleft. 
Sheaths at the base of the stem obtuse or oblique at. 
the top, without any leafy tip. Spikelets oblong. 
Flowers numerous in each spikelet, the thickened 
base of the style rather bulb- shaped . d 4. S. multicaulis. 
Flowers 3 to 6 in each spikelet, the thickened base 
of the style gradually tapering from the nut . 5. S. pauciflorus. 
Sheaths at the base of the stem with a short leafy tip. 
Spikelet ovoid . 6.-S. ceespitosus. 
Outer bract of the spikelet with a ‘leaf y tip as long as the 
spikelet or longer. 
Stems rather firm, 6 inches to a foot high, with numerous 
sheaths at the base, each with a short point : 6. S. cespitosus. 
Stems very slender, 1 to 6 inches high, with 1 or 2 subulate 
leaves. 
Nut marked with longitudinal ribs and furrows- . . 8. S. setaceus. 
Nut without ribs or furrows. 9. S. riparius. 
Spikelets 2 or more, in a cluster or umbel below the summit of 
the stem. 
Stems very slender, 1 to 6 inches high, with 1 or 2 subulate 
leaves. 
Nut marked with longitudinal ribs and furrows . ; . 8 S. setaceus. 
Nut without ribs or furrows . : . : ’ ; . 9 S. riparius. 
Stems firm, 1 to 2 feet high or more. 
Stems leafless, or with 1 or 2 short, stiff leaves at the base. 
Stems acutely triangular from near the base. 
Spikelets all sessile, in a close cluster. Leaf-blade nar- 
row, 2 or 3 inches long i 11. S. pungens. | 
Spikelets more or less pedicellate, ina compound ‘clus- 
ter. Leaf-blade very short : : . 12. S. triqueter. 
Stems cylindrical, or scarcely angular at the top. 
Spikelets very small but very numerous, densely packed 
in one or more small, globular heads : . 10. S. Holoscheenus. 
Spikelets rather large, in a cluster or irregular umbel . 13. S. lacustris. 
Stems bearing several long leaves. 
Spikelets large, brown, in a sessile cluster or close com- 
pound umbel . : . 14. S. maritimus. 
Spikelets small, green, very numerous, in a large, loose, 
compound panicle i ; f ) 1 as, sylvaticus. 
1. S. acicularis, Linn. (fig. 1092). Needle S.—A little slender tufted 
plant, with the appearance of an annual, but emitting thread-like, 
creeping rootstocks; the fine subulate stems scarcely 2 inches high, 
with short sheaths at their base, and most of them bearing a single 
terminal oblong spikelet, not 2 lines long, of a dark-brown colour, the 
outer bract similar to the glumes. Flowers usually 6 to 8 in the spikelet. 
Hypogynous bristles 3 or 4. Styles 3-cleft. Not obovoid, slightly 
triangular. leocharis acicularis, Br. . 
In wet, sandy places, the margin of lakes, &c., widely spread over 4 
A, 
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